Amnesia Furled Tenkara Line

Recently, I tried out some red Amnesia for a tenkara level line. I was impressed with its high visibility, but not so much with the way it cast. Being nylon monofilament, it isn’t as dense as the fluorocarbon level lines I’m used to fishing and didn’t turn over as well. It casts, but you have to adjust your casting stroke. In that post, John Veterlli of Tenkara Guides suggested using Amenesia to make a furled line rather than a level line. I pretty much fish level lines exclusively but though the idea was interesting and John was kind enough to send me one for testing.

The line is 16 ft. long and made from three snoods (sections) of twisted 10, 8, and 6 lb. red Amnesia. The snoods are tied together with what looks like a simple overhand knot and the end is finished with a nice tippet ring. On the butt end, the line is attached to the rod with a loop of dacron backing and a girth hitch connection (the way most traditional tenkara lines are connected).

As expected, the line is high-vis to the extreme. If you can’t see this line on the water, leave the stream immediately and rush to the nearest opthamologist. The bright red almost glows neon in the sun and it’s easy to see against both light and dark backgrounds (the picture below doesn’t really capture how bright it is in real life).

So how does it cast? Beautifully! This isn’t a “power line” that will punch through high winds. But furled lines generally aren’t so that was no surprise. Thanks to the taper, the line turns over very smoothly and delicately. For those that like to fish dry flies with a tenkara rod, I think this line would be an excellent choice.

While I’m very happy with the way the line casts it still has the same Achilles’ heel that all nylon furled lines have: becoming tangled after being pulled out of a snag. This phenomenon is intrinsic to nylon. Any furled line made out of a material that has stretch (such as nylon) will do this. Which is why the Kevlar lines by Tenkara USA are nice. The Kevlar eliminates the stretch and you can pull the line out of the worst snag without ending up with a bird’s next in your hand. Unfortunately, Tenkara USA only makes them in 10.5 and 13 ft. lengths (at the time of this post anyway). So casting John’s longer 16 ft. furled line was a real treat. But it would still be nice if someone made some longer Kevlar furled lines…

About the author

Jason Klass

Jason is an avid fly angler and backpacker. As a former fly fishing guide originally from Western New York, he moved to Colorado and became an early adopter of tenkara which perfectly suited the small, high altitude streams and lakes there. He has not fished a Western-style fly rod for trout since.

Jason, I’m glad the line has been working well for you. I still haven’t had a chance to try it myself on the water. Spent all weekend testing florocarbon furled lines with hybrid floro/amnesia tip sections.

September 3, 2012 at 3:52 pm

Jason Klass

Hi John, thanks again for sending it! It is a great line for sure, but not the Holy Grail. I’ll be interested to see the hybrid lines you come up with. Sounds very, very interesting. I think there is a lot of room for improvement in modern tenkara lines and that you’re on the right track.

September 3, 2012 at 3:52 pm

Sean

This line is a great idea! If I knew how to make these I’d have tried it as well, and I deffinitely agree with the need for longer Kevlar lines.

September 3, 2012 at 4:01 pm

Jason Klass

Sean, it’s actually not that hard. If you can live with knots, you don’t need a machine or special jig. All you need is a little patience. I made a horse hair furled lin that was very similar to this not long ago: http://tenkaratalk.com/2011/12/horse-hair-tenkara-lines/ . I didn’t think I could do it but it was pretty straightforward. Granted, mono is slightly harder to twist than horse hair but definitely not a barrier to entry. If I can do it, you can too!

Nice looking line Jason, since starting tenkara fishing I’ve been experimenting with lines. I like to make stuff so I’ve been hand furling my own lines using mono and copolymer. I now mostly fish with a “furled level line” I had been knotting them but I learned how to make them without knotting. They work great and as an indicator I attach a high visibility braid loop, might be worth making some lines from amnesia without the taper.

September 4, 2012 at 10:09 pm

Tony Wee

Hi Jason, on the subject of lines, have you tried using a tapered level line “the other way around” …. something like a shooting head approach, with the lighter portion attached to the lilian and the tippet tied to the heavier part.? You’ll have to adjust the lengths of the tapers, of course. I’ve tried it and it seems to work quite well.

September 5, 2012 at 5:41 am

Jason Klass

Hi Tony, no, I haven’t but that sounds like a really interesting idea! I’d like to try it. Could you share what lines and diameters you use that you think work the best?

December 6, 2016 at 10:26 am

Nick Smeenk

I was wondering what are the lengths of each snood are? I am new to making furled lines and want to make a 20 ft line for use with a 13′ 2″ 8:2 flex rod with a soft tip. I hope to test the line for carp and potentially along the gulf coast of FL.

Jason Klass is a former fly fishing guide & casting instructor based in Colorado. He was an early adopter of tenkara in the West and has been fishing the method for a variety of species since 2009. Read more >>